22/2/2008
MEPs to Attend Seventh Session of the UN Human Rights Council

Parliament adopted a resolution giving a mandate to a seven-member delegation of MEPs who on 17-19 March will accompany a Council and Commission delegation to the seventh session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. The EP sees the seventh session of the UNHRC (which superseded the UN Human Rights Commission in 2006) as a crucial one, since it will examine a range of issues under new working methods and will fine-tune the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism.

The resolution says "the credibility of the UNHRC rests on the implementation of these reforms and mechanisms in a way which will strengthen its ability to address human rights violations around the world".
 
A number of positions within the UNHRC are due to be filled in the near future. The EP wants these posts to go to the right kind of candidates and thus calls on the EU to support "candidates with high standards of integrity for the election of the new President of the UNHRC"  on 23 June 2008. It also "regrets that some countries with problematic human rights records have so far been elected"  to the UNHRC. A useful step would be to establish "membership criteria for election to the UNHRC".
 
Universal Periodic Review
 
Under the recently introduced system of Universal Periodic Review, all UN members are to have their human rights records scrutinised through a standard mechanism.  Parliament's resolution urges EU Member States and the Commission to ensure that the conclusions of any UPR are taken into account in EU assistance programmes. It also calls on EU Member States which will themselves be subject to UPR "to be self-critical" and not just focus on their positive achievements.
 
Special Procedures
 
Special Procedures are a UN mechanism designed to address specific country situations or thematic issues. They are commonly conducted by a special rapporteur.
 
MEPs say that Special Procedures are at the core of the UN human rights machinery and hence "the credibility of the UNHRC will depend on the new nominations for special procedures mandate-holders in March 2008". The EP "calls for the nomination, as mandate-holders, of persons with recognised human rights expertise, relevant experience, independence, impartiality, personal integrity and objectivity".
 
The Human Rights Council's decision not to renew the mandates of the Special Rapporteurs on Belarus and Cuba is condemned  and the EU's support for the HRC's decision to put an end to its expert group on Darfur is regretted.  By contrast, the renewal of the country mandates of the Special Rapporteur on Sudan and of the Independent Experts on Liberia, Haiti and Burundi is welcomed.  
 
EU Member States are urged to ensure the renewal of the mandates of the Special Rapporteurs on Myanmar and North Korea, and the extension of the mandates of the Independent Experts on Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
 
The resolution also "calls on the EU to sponsor its own resolution to seek consensus in addressing the current violations of human rights in relation to the blockade on Gaza and to rocket attacks against Israel". 
 
The EU's role
 
Lastly, the EP recognises the active involvement of the EU and its Member States in the first year of work of the UNHRC but stresses the need "for the EU to speak with one voice to address human rights issues" but also the importance "of each EU Member State's voicing the EU position in order to give it more weight ".   Lastly, MEPs urge that all EU Member States automatically sign and ratify all international human rights instruments.